March 28, 2007
By Lindsey Stetson
lstetson@sjnewsco.com
The Washington Township High School ice hockey team likes a challenge. In two of the three games leading up to the Delaware Valley Flyers Cup championship game, the Minutemen started behind before fighting back for the win. The same thing happened again in the final round against No. 1 Haverford, but there wasn’t enough time left for the Minutemen to tie it up, and they fell, 7-6, at the Wachovia Spectrum on Sunday. Less than four minutes into the first period, Township trailed, 3-0. They seem to like this adversity,” said coach Jim Macchione. “I think we were overwhelmed playing in the spectrum. Some of the Haverford kids have been there before, and they came in with tremendous confidence.” Haverford claimed the Flyers Cup title for its third year in a row. They were quick and aggressive, scoring two key goals, one of which was shorthanded while Township was on a powerplay. Again, the Minutemen fell,
this time by four goals, 7-3. But as the Minutemen have proved, they know how to come back from a deficit. “I’ve coached for many years,” said Macchione. “It isn’t often that a team never quits. Some people came up to me after the game and said, ‘If there were two more minutes on the clock, (Haverford) was in trouble.” Senior Christian Biscardi led the Minutemen with two goals and two assists. When they trailed 7-3, he knew they needed to step up. “We realized time was running out and just turned it on,” said Biscardi. “We were upset we didn’t pull out the win, but we were thankful for the opportunity to be there; getting there was the good part.” Biscardi was introduced to ice hockey at age six by his father Ernie and has been competing ever since. He will continue his career next fall at Rowan University and major in engineering. Even though they lost, the Minutemen have had an incredibly successful season, capping off the year with a South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League Tier One title for the second year in a row and
advancing further in the Flyers Cup than they have in over 12 years. “We accomplished all the goals we set out to do this year,” said Macchione. “The Flyers Cup was just the icing on the cake. There was some disappointment in the locker room after the game, but I told them to keep their heads up. They showed class, a competitive spirit, and character to never give up.
Gloucester County Times
